Vau

(Germany)

Zwiebelkorn strip from Der Tarantel 48 (September 1954)

It was the signature of Vau that appeared on many covers and interior cartoons of Der Tarantel. This "satirical monthly magazine for the Soviet zone" was produced in West-Berlin and distributed illegally over the eastern border between 1950 and 1962. In the DDR, possession and distribution of Der Tarantel could lead to arrest by the Stasi because of its magazine's satirical yet primitive anti-communist content.

It is probably therefore that all the contributors hid behind pseudonyms. Chief editor and publisher Heinrich Bär was actually called Heinz Wenzel and the contributing cartoonists resorted to unrevealing signatures like Vau, Fax, Hui, Zwick and Tunitz. Vau was, in addition to many cartoons, also responsible for the 'Zwiebelkorn' comic strip.